


like a pin drop

by remi_wolf



Series: The Life and Times of Teddy Blaseball [6]
Category: Blaseball (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Auditory Processing Disorder, Canonical Character Death, Canonical Character Shadow-ing, Communication Failure, Emotional Hurt, Gen, Hurt No Comfort, Lack of Communication, Meetings and Bureaucracy, Mental Health Issues, Misunderstandings, Neurodiversity, Pre-Season 11, Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD), Self Confidence Issues, Self-Destruction, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Worth Issues, Theodore Duende Has ADHD, cooking as a love language, look teddy's just not having a fun time, pre-season 10, teddy's really not having a fun time, there's a lot of projection here i'm sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-18 19:21:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28623225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/remi_wolf/pseuds/remi_wolf
Summary: About once or twice a year, the various Captains (or those who draw the short straw) gather together to discuss the upcoming season. While they might not know specifics about the season, or who would be playing where, or anything like that, they can trade training tips, and cast lots and stones and bones to see the portents, and they can certainly determine who figures out where the visiting teams will be staying. Really, it's mostly a time for everyone to touch base with each other. That doesn't mean it's any easier on someone who has a difficult time keeping their train of thought during such long-winded meetings, and unfortunately, Theodore Duende isneverable to pay attention throughout the entire meeting.
Relationships: Mike Townsend & Theodore Duende
Series: The Life and Times of Teddy Blaseball [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1918738
Kudos: 7
Collections: Beguilements and Distractions





	like a pin drop

_And if you take those two mallets, with one being a metal head, and the other being wood, that might end up with a nice sound...metal bat, should get one of those, might be nice to try out one of those instead of the wooden ones, huh, fuck, I need to pick up those new wooden spoons for the kitchen, forgot about that. Should do that on the way home. Oh, wait—_

“What do you think, Teddy?”

Teddy jerked, looking up at the circle of people in front of him, and he glanced around before shifting back in the chair just slightly. Clearly he had missed something, but the question was what exactly he had missed. He looked over at the pad of paper in front of Malik and secretly despaired when he saw the notes about what types of cat food to buy for the café and doodled cats, rather than anything that he was actually supposed to be taking notes on. Without the notes he relied on to help him catch the thread of conversation he could never focus on, he had no idea what he was being asked about, and he glanced back up at...fuck, he didn’t even remember their name, he just recognized the jersey of the Spies and the mirrored sunglasses hiding any expression. Fuck, of all the teams, it had to be a Spy. 

“I...think it’s an interesting idea. I’d have to hear more about it, first?” 

The Spy frowned as he looked at Teddy, and Teddy’s hands tightened in his lap as he realized that was the wrong answer entirely. Fuck, what had he been asked at all?

“You need to hear more about taking a break for lunch?”

Oh.

“Sorry!” Teddy closed his eyes tight, trying not to feel too furious with himself, even if that was a losing battle. “No, no, I was thinking about something else, obviously. That’s fine with me. An hour, like usual?”

“It’s decided then. Back here in an hour, and we’ll get started looking over the arrangements for hotels and transportation.” The Spy grinned before standing up, along with most everyone else. Even Malik disappeared almost immediately for lunch.

Rather than moving, Teddy quietly sighed, closing his eyes and running a hand over his hair as he tried to think of anything he could remember from the morning meeting. He already missed hearing about the newer training schedules and methods that usually dominated the morning half of the yearly meetings, and then the afternoons, once everyone was awake, was usually reserved to discussing the actual travel accommodations, and Teddy desperately hoped that he’d be able to get Malik to pay attention and actually get him some notes. The afternoons were the properly important part of these meetings, and he’d need some record to remind him of what was decided. Malik never took good notes, though, but the other Garages had been busy, leaving him with the catboy. Almost anyone would have helped more than Malik. 

“Hey, Teddy.”

Teddy jumped, and if he were actually honest about himself, he would admit that he actually yelped as he heard the voice. “I’m awake!” Mike laughed softly, and Teddy settled back down as he realized who it was, only to pause and frown for a moment. “Wait. I thought you were busy? Something about helping Lenny? I don’t..." Teddy sighed, running a hand over the back of his neck. He hated it when he was this frazzled, so on edge and overwhelmed that he couldn’t even trust what memories there were in his head. He’d even have to text Randy later to try and figure out what they were doing for dinner. 

“Had a little time, so I thought I’d swing by, get you some lunch.” Mike gave Teddy that crooked grin of his, and held up a small cooler. “I wasn’t sure if this would help keep it warm, but I thought that it might help, at least.”

Teddy frowned for a moment, and he opened up the box before taking a deep breath of the smell. Memories of home and safety immediately came to mind, and he couldn’t help but relax as what frown lingered faded into a grin as he looked up at Mike. “Chili and tamales? How’d you manage that? It’s not even baking!” 

Mike shrugged, leaning back in the chair he was sitting in, and Teddy quickly pulled the food out. It smelled amazing already, and Teddy took a deep breath again. Already, he felt better with the familiar food, and he quickly unwrapped the first of the tamales, nibbling at the masa dough with a quiet sigh.

“Like them?”

Teddy nodded, recognizing the familiar taste as he took a second bite. He looked up at Mike, surprised and honestly closer to tears than he’d care to admit. “This is my mama’s recipe?”

“I might have asked her for it. I...I saw how many issues you were having. Honestly, it didn’t take long to realize how rough of a time you were doing, even if I couldn’t see half of it from the shadows, and so I might have asked your mama for her recipe. Thought it might help you feel better before we got started with the next season. They’re good, though?”

Teddy took a deep breath, trying to ignore the slight sniffle and mistiness in his eyes. “Thanks. These are good. Really good tamales.” He smiled over at Mike before looking back at the food and starting to nibble at the chili. Also amazing, and unreasonably so. “Why’d you bring me lunch, Mike?”

“Like I said. Thought it might help you feel better.”

Teddy glanced over at Mike, and the man shrugged, a bit of a sheepish grin on his face, especially as he glanced over at the abandoned pad of paper with doodles and unrelated lists on it. Just the sight of it made Teddy’s stomach turn over, and he quickly looked away as he returned to lunch. This sort of meeting wasn’t anything new. A day or two long affair in which all the captains met up to talk about travel plans and hotels and vague interpretations of the divinations and portents about the following season. 

“That’s really not why you did this, right?”

Mike shook his head. “Nah. I realized what you were off doing last night. Sorta mad at myself that I didn’t realize it earlier.”

“You were helping Lenny. It’s fine. I don’t need you. I’ve been...dealing with it for a few seasons now.”

“Teddy.”

“Mike.” Teddy took a deep breath, setting the tamale down before he’d crumble it and ruin it. “I know...I know you used to always help with this because you were the only one who was any good with it. But I’ve had years now to get used to it and figure out the paperwork and these meetings, and Malik’s not that bad, honest.”

“He’s drawn sixteen cats, and you’ve got no notes for the morning meeting.”

Even if Mike hadn’t meant it to hurt, or feel like an accusation of some sort, it still hurt just the same, and Teddy couldn’t help but think about some of the conversations he had with Allison about how he was falling apart at the seams after so long being the only person relied on as team captain. “I’m fine. I’ll ask the Spies for a recording later.”

“Teddy, seriously. You don’t have to do it on your own. You could have asked me specifically for this. I don’t mind.”

“I do mind!” Teddy took a shaking breath as he looked at the table before quickly packing the lunch up and pushing it against Mike’s chest. It hurt to refuse the food, and he knew that his mama would have his hide if she ever heard that he did something like this, but he didn’t want Mike’s pity, and he didn’t want Mike’s charity, and he would buy something from the shitty Coffee-Shop-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named around the corner. “It’s fine. I’m fine. If you could go, my plus one today is Malik, as he wasn’t busy. I’m sure Lenny would appreciate you getting back to him. I’m the captain. I have to do this.”

Mike stiffened, standing up suddenly with the cooler clutched against his chest. “Alright. I...I didn’t say that you couldn’t do it.” He looked down at the cooler before setting it down onto the table, pushing it towards Teddy’s spot. “Keep the lunch, alright? And...” 

“I don’t need your fucking help.”

“I know.”

Mike stood there, not looking at Teddy, and Teddy refused to look at Mike in return. It hurt. Teddy knew that he had been trying to be friendlier to Mike, but all he could see were the ways he had failed the man, and the ways in which he could never make up for those failings, even if he worked for decades and centuries to make up for the abuse he had allowed to happen.

“Feel free to ask if you need any help with the paperwork, Teddy.”

Teddy couldn’t quite bring himself to nod, not as he stared down at the lunch on the table and the empty notepad, and he felt so, so lost. He needed to look back at Mike, apologize and ask him to come back, to properly help and if he could try to help with the paperwork. Something, because he knew that he was hopeless, and Malik was hopeless, and Mike had been the only one to ever be of much help anyways other than that one with nice handwriting whose face he couldn't remember. Arty, that's right. But Arty messed with the Spies' cameras worse than he did, so...Arty couldn't come very often.

But Teddy stayed put, trying to breathe past the disgust and hatred directed towards himself, and Mike left, and neither mentioned the captain meetings ever again.

* * *

“Hey, Teddy? You doing alright? I got you some coffee. Latte, right?” 

Teddy jumped from where he had been idly tooling out a melody—an F that stumbled into an B, and fell down to the D before resolving on the E, only to ruin that and continue the bumbling path it had through the rest of the musical staff—to look at Sandoval, lost about why they were standing there, and especially why she was holding a steaming cup of coffee out to him. He still took it, though, wrapping his fingers around the warm cup. “Sorry, I’m fine.”

“You missed the fact that we had a twenty minute break, though.”

Oh. So that’s why it was so quiet. Teddy glanced around the room, wishing that he could curl up on his chair and die from the fact that yet again, he had entirely missed something. Wonderful. “I didn’t need it.”

Sandy sighed, leaning against the table before eventually pulling the chair out and sitting down. “You’ve been off all morning, kid. The others are worried about you.”

“I’m fine.”

Teddy took a deep breath. He was fine. Of course he was fine. He might be floundering and entirely unable to focus on anyone’s voices long enough to realize what anyone was saying or doing, but he was fine. 

“Do...you have anyone to help you this go-around? Noticed you didn’t bring anyone. You always bring someone. Seems to help, to be honest.” 

“I...not this time.” Teddy took another steadying breath before sipping his coffee, and trying not to think about it too hard. “Supposed to be Mike this time. Mike...Mike’s the best. Always has been.”

Sandy blinked, a brief look of that familiar regret-loss-sympathy that crossed everyone’s face at the mention of lost players. “Oh.”

Teddy nodded, sipping his coffee as he tried not to think about any of it too hard. “Yeah. And everyone else was busy. So. I get to be alone this year.”

There was a long pause as they sat there in silence before everyone started filtering back in, and Sandy clapped Teddy’s shoulder hard, enough of a jolt to bring him back to the present. 

“Don’t forget to ask the Spies for the recordings, kid.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! Hopefully everyone like that...fun foray into Teddy....  
> alright. yeah. probably not fun, but hopefully it had some sort of enjoyment or something like that and I hope it was alright. It's definitely based and grounded in a lot of my experience with meetings and classes and that sort of thing, and I feel really bad for doing this to Teddy. But! The idea came about in the Garages server, and seeing as I am the Self-Proclaimed Number 1 Theodore "Teddy Blaseball" Duende fan, I knew I needed to write it. So yeah! Thanks for reading! Comments are always welcome!


End file.
